Chad
interrupted. “Yes, Andi, Aunt Rebecca's house and yes, Aunt Rebecca would be
highly offended if you didn't attend. So you will be going.”

Andi sighed, “Okay,
when are we leaving?”

This time
Mitch replied. ”In two days.”

Andi sighed, “I
guess I better go get packed.” Andi looked down at her school dress I better get used to it. she thought as
she walked up the stairs. It was going to be hard for Andi to stay patient with
Aunt Rebecca for that long when she would have to be wearing a dress every
single day.

***

The stagecoach
rattled over the uneven ground. Every moment getting further from home. . .and
closer to Aunt Rebecca’s house.

Andi sighed as
she leaned her head out the window. Justin, who was sitting next to her,
slipped an arm around her waist. “It’s okay, honey. A couple days isn’t so bad.”

“Oh Justin!
Aunt Rebecca expects me to be just like Melinda, a perfect lady!”

Justin
grinned. “Well, it shouldn’t be too hard to act for a few days, right?”

Before Andi
could answer, the stagecoach driver yelled out “San Francisco ahead!”

***

Aunt Rebecca
came out to greet them when they arrived at her house. Andi subconsciously
smoothed out her dress, which was wrinkled and dusty from sitting in a
stagecoach all day.

Aunt Rebecca
didn’t seem to notice. “Come in everyone!” She said as she greeted mother with
a hug. “I have some extra guests here I want you to meet. I didn’t tell you in
my letter because I wanted it to be a surprise!”

She ushered
them inside and led the way to the parlor.Because her brothers were in front of her, she couldn’t see in at first.
But she did hear the introductions.

“This is
Johnny Wilson, he’s been boarding at my house while he’s in Military school.
And this is Ms. Felicity Livingston and her father. They happened to be in town
so I invited them over.”

Andi couldn’t
believe her ears. Justin, Chad and Mitch all glanced back at her. Finally they
walked into the room and Andi had a clear view of their “guests”.

Her eyes
widened, and for once in her life, she didn’t know what to say.

Johnny stood
right next to Aunt Rebecca with an expressionless look on his face and didn't
say a word. Andi shrank back behind Mother who put an arm around Andi.

“Well, come on
in,” said Aunt Rebecca, ”you all know where you normally stay.”

Andi walked up
the stairs to the room that she was to share with Melinda. On her way up the
stairs Johnny stopped her from behind. “Well, aren’t you going to even say hi?”

Andi looked at
him. He didn't look even the slightest bit mean or goofy. “Hi, Johnny, funny to
run into you here.”

Johnny
replied, ”You too.”

Then Melinda
called for Andi to hurry up.

***

When Andi walked into the room Melinda had
all her stuff thrown on the side of the bed by the window. That was the side
Andi loved, right where she could imagine. But Andi didn't say anything. Might as well let one thing go. Not much can
get worse than seeing Johnny.

“Hey Andi, you
know that boy, right? Wasn’t hethe one
that used to torment you?”

Andi sighed
and turned toward Melinda who was glancing at her with an inquisitive look on
her face.

“Yes, he was
the one who ‘kidnapped’ me when that whole court case was going on with the
Wilsons. After that his parents sent him off to military school. I didn’t know
exactly where it was, but it obviously must have been here in San Francisco.”

Melinda
nodded. “It’ll be interesting to see how everything works out with him staying
here. And wasn’t Felicity the girl you had trouble with that time you ran away?”

Andi grimaced
as She quickly grabbed a dress out of her bag and changed. Melinda, who had
finished dressing, picked up the dress Andi had thrown down and smoothed it
out.

“Yes, this is going to be one of the very
worst thanksgivings! Not only do we have to be here at Aunt Rebecca's, but
Felicity and Johnny are here!”

Melinda gave
her a sympathetic look as she walked toward the door. She paused with her hand
on the door handle. “Here’s something to think about. It’s thanksgiving, let’s
both try hard to be thankful for what we do have and not complain about what we
don’t like. We have many things to be thankful for.”

She stepped
out into the hall and closed the door quietly behind her. Andi heard her
footsteps retreating down the hall as she stood up and walked over to the
window. Melinda was right. Besides, she wouldn’t help or fix anything by complaining.

She took a
deep breath and walked toward the door. It was going to be a long holiday.

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About Andi

I'm the main character in 4 book series: Circle C Beginnings, Circle C Stepping Stones, Circle C Adventures, and Circle C Milestones. I live on a huge cattle and horse ranch in 1880 California. These are my adventures.